Structure of wound-healing insole

ABSTRACT

A wound-healing insole has a plurality of insole units. Each insole unit has a main body with raised posts on top face and bottom face, respectively. Sleeve bodies are provided at the periphery of the main body. The insole unit and the adjacent unit are connected with each other by plugging raised posts of adjacent unit into the corresponding sleeve bodies thereof. A plurality of insole units is thus assembled into a wound-healing insole. The insole units corresponding to the location of a foot wound can be dismantled to form an opening for relieving load on the wound. The insole units can be assembled or detached at will to form an insole with perfect fit for all foot shapes and sizes, and the opening for the foot wound can also be altered in shape, size and location. Besides, the wound-healing insole is recyclable and is used without any hand tools.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a structure of a wound-healing insole and, more particularly, to a structure of an insole providing a good healing environment for foot wounds, allowing the patient to continue their daily lives, and preventing tissue necrosis and amputation.

2. Description of Related Art

Foot wounds on the sole of the foot, if not protected, make walking in conventional footwear uncomfortable and painful. Such foot wounds are thus also inconvenient because they prevent a person from wearing conventional footwear when attending formal social activities or important meetings.

Wounds on the sole of the foot tend not to heal because of unavoidable contact with footwear and the mechanical load resulting from the patient's weight. Foot wounds in diabetic patients represent a significant public health problem throughout the world since the patients have a slower recovery speed than healthy people do due to poor blood circulation. As estimated, 15% of patients with diabetes experience serious foot problems. If their foot wounds are not properly treated in an early stage, the foot wounds may be easily infected, resulting in tissue necrosis or even amputation. Therefore, diabetic patients have to pay a lot of attention to foot wounds at an early stage and need the proper protection to avoid amputation.

In the prior art, an insole 10 is capable of promoting wound healing, as shown in FIG. 1. An opening 11 is formed in the insole 10. The opening 11 is cut by a hand tool, such as a pair of scissors, and is located corresponding to a foot wound 20. The insole 10 with corresponding openings 11 can protect foot wounds 20 from contact with footwear, and thus reduce the mechanical load on the foot wound 20 and promote healing.

The conventional insole 10 is not environmentally friendly since it has limits in reuse and many needless portions must be cut from the insole to fit the insole to various foot sizes. Once the opening 11 of the conventional insole 10 is produced, the shape and size of opening 11 cannot be changed, and the insole 10 certainly cannot return to its original state. Further, forming the opening 11 with hand tools is very inconvenient while traveling. The conventional insole 10, therefore, is poorly designed in terms of environmental protection and portability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a wound-healing insole, which can be flexibly assembled into an insole to fit all foot sizes. The opening of the insole, corresponding to the foot wound, can be easily altered in shape, size and location. In addition, the insole can provide good ventilation and massage functions, and can also be assembled into various kinds of footwear, such as sandals.

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a wound-healing insole. The insole comprises a plurality of insole units. Each insole unit has a main body. Raised posts are formed on the top face and bottom face of the main body respectively. Sleeve bodies are formed at the periphery of the main body. A sleeve hole is formed in the sleeve body. The above insole units can be joined together. An insole unit and an adjacent unit can be joined together with each other by plugging raised posts of adjacent unit into the corresponding sleeve bodies thereof so that a plurality of insole units can be joined together to form the insole. Further, some of the insole units can be dismantled to produce an insole opening corresponding to the foot wound.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the state of a conventional wound-healing insole in use;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a single insole unit according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a top view of a single insole unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view along line 4-4 in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a top view of two assembled insole units according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of two assembled insole units according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a diagram of a plurality of assembled insole units according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a top view of a single insole unit according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of two insole units vertically assembled according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of two insole units vertically assembled according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of two insole units vertically assembled according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the present invention provides a wound-healing insole. The insole comprises a plurality of insole units 50. The insole units 50 are made of plastic material with resilience and flexibility. Each insole unit 50 has a main body 51. The main body 51 is a flat piece, and its shape is not limited. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the main body 51 is a rectangular flat piece.

A plurality of raised posts 52 is integrated with the top face and bottom face of the main body 51 respectively. The raised posts 52 are disposed on the top face and bottom face of the main body 51, and each upper raised post and each lower one correspond to each other. The raised posts 52 are equidistantly arranged. The shape and number of the raised posts are not limited. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the raised posts 52 are circular cylinders, and there are four raised posts 52 on each of the top face and bottom face of the main body 51. The raised posts 52 are projected out of the top face and bottom face of the main body 51 a predetermined height respectively. In another embodiment of the present invention, there are twelve raised posts on each of the top face and bottom face of the main body 51, as shown in FIG. 8.

A plurality of sleeve bodies 53 is formed at the periphery of the main body 51. These sleeve bodies 53 are integrated with the main body 51, and a sleeve hole 54 is formed in each of the sleeve bodies 53. These sleeve holes 54 are equidistantly arranged. The shape and number of these sleeve holes are not limited. In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the sleeve holes 54 are circular holes corresponding to the raised posts 52, and a sleeve body 53 is formed on each side of the main body 51. In another embodiment of the present invention, two sleeve bodies 53 are formed on each side of the main body 51, as shown in FIG. 8.

The sleeve bodies 53 at opposite sides of the main body 51 are located at different elevations. As shown in FIG. 4, the sleeve bodies 53 at the left and right sides of the main body 51 are at different elevations. Specifically, the sleeve body 53 at the right side of the main body 51 is located higher than the sleeve body 53 at the left side of the main body 51. Similarly, the sleeve bodies 53 at the front and rear sides of the main body 51 are also at different elevations.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the insole unit 50 and the adjacent insole unit 50 can be joined together with each other by plugging raised posts 52 of adjacent insole unit 50 into the corresponding sleeve bodies 53 thereof. Two adjacent insole units 50 can be detachably joined together through sleeve joint of the sleeve bodies 53 and the raised posts 52. A plurality of insole units 50 can thus be joined together to form an insole to fit all foot sizes, as shown in FIG. 7. The wound-healing insole of the present invention is thus formed.

The present invention is based on the principle of modular assembly to join insole units together to make an insole to fit all foot sizes. In use, a patient only needs to dismantle one or a plurality of insole units 50 corresponding to the location of a foot wound to form an opening 60 for wound protection. Thus, the opening 60 corresponding to the foot wound can reduce the mechanical load and promote wound healing.

The insole units 50 of the present invention can be flexibly assembled to make an insole that fits all foot sizes. Moreover, the shape, the size and the location of the opening 60 can be easily altered.

Due to a predetermined space between two adjacent raised posts 52, good ventilation can be generated. Raised posts 52 can provide a massage function for the foot sole. In addition, insole units 50 can be assembled into various footwear components, such as a shoe vamp or a shoe strip; these components can also be put together to form footwear, such as a sandal.

As shown in FIG. 9, the insole units 50 can also be vertically joined together. Connection planes 521 and 522 are formed on end faces of the raised posts 52 of an upper and a lower insole unit 50, respectively. The connection planes 521 and 522 are corresponding corrugated faces or studded faces, and can be glued together so that the end faces of the raised posts 52 of the upper and lower insole unit 50 can be joined together. The insole units 50 can thus be vertically joined together to further form a footwear component, such as a shoe heel.

As shown in FIG. 10, end faces of the raised posts 52 of an upper and a lower insole unit 50 can also be sewed together with seams 55 to join the end faces of the raised posts 52 of the upper and lower insole unit 50 together. The insole units 50 can thus be vertically joined together.

As shown in FIG. 11, it is also feasible to form connection grooves 523 and 524 on side surfaces of the raised posts 52 of an upper and a lower insole unit 50. Connection components 56 are then embedded in the connection grooves 523 and 524 of two raised posts 52 so that the end faces of the raised posts 52 of the upper and lower insole unit 50 can be joined together. The insole units 50 can thus be vertically joined together.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details thereof. Various substitutions and modifications have been suggested in the foregoing description, and other will occur to those of ordinary skill in the art. Therefore, all such substitutions and modifications are intended to be embraced within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. 

1. An insole for promoting wound healing, comprising multiple insole units, each said insole unit having a main body, raised posts being formed on a top face and a bottom face of said main body, sleeve bodies being provided at an edge of said main body, and sleeve holes being formed in said sleeve bodies; whereby sleeve bodies of said insole units can be sleeved onto raised posts of adjacent insole units to join detachably said insole units together into an insole, and openings can be produced by dismantling specified insole units of said insole.
 2. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole units are made of plastic material with resilience and flexibility.
 3. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said raised posts are integrated with said main body.
 4. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein each of said raised posts on a top face of said main body and each of said raised posts on a bottom face of said main body correspond to each other.
 5. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said raised posts are equidistantly arranged.
 6. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sleeve bodies are integrated with said main body.
 7. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said sleeve holes are equidistantly arranged.
 8. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 1, wherein said insole units are vertically joined together.
 9. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 8, wherein connection planes are formed on end faces of said raised posts of an upper insole unit and a lower insole unit, and said connection planes with corresponding corrugated surfaces or studded surfaces are glued together.
 10. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 8, wherein end faces of said raised posts of an upper insole unit and a lower insole unit are sewed together with seams.
 11. The wound-healing insole as claimed in claim 8, wherein connection grooves are formed in side surfaces of said raised posts of an upper insole and a lower insole unit, and connection components are provided to be embedded in said connection grooves of two of said raised posts. 